I thought I would recap our trip with a top ten list. I didn't say it was a "Best" or "Worst" list, so it's perhaps a combo of both.
1. Chicken-chasing, as mentioned in my previous post, was Colin's #1 source of entertainment. "Is the big rooster behind bush #1 or bush #2? How fast can we make him run? Will he cock-a-doodle-doo if I chase him faster? and how about momma chicken and her chicks. Can I split them up so that a few of the chicks split from mom when I chase them into the bushes? Ah, yes. Fun in the sun with chickens on the run!"
2. Mom chasing geckos in the hotel room? Not so much fun! We had 2 different little geckos make the mistake of running from our lanai into our room and behind the entertainment center. Guess these little greenish guys thought it sounded like a good idea at the time. I though I would make some lame car insurance ad joke here, but my funny bone didn't quite thaw completely after our vacation.
3. Having a hotel room with separate kitchen, living, and sleeping quarters totally rocks when you have a toddler who goes to bed at 5pm local time. Yep, you got that right. So we (as parents) went to bed no later than 7:30 or 8 pm and all woke really early each day. Lunch was at 9 am and dinner was around 3 pm. Needless to say, we cooked in our kitchen in the room. Besides, who serves lunch at 9 am? What we HAVE learned in past travel experiences is to respect our son's schedule when we travel across a 3 hour time change. Deviate from his internal nuclear time clock which is set to PST, and you have one grumpy child. Stay the course, and life is good. And thus, lunch at 9 am!
4. Conversely, having a hotel room with no separate sleeping and living rooms, is BAD. Our last night we stayed closer to the airport in a hotel room on the second floor with a balcony the size of a postage stamp. Colin was in a crib next to where our bed would be, and there was no separate place to hang out except for the tiny balcony. I actually considered repelling down the balcony the first floor just so I could hang at the beach for a while. OK, so the thought was only a flash through me mind. We watched a movie on the laptop as we sat huddled on the balcony. The view to the ocean, from our balcony "prison," was, however, remarkable.
5. The Honolulu zoo is a great place for an afternoon adventure. We flew to Honolulu and then went direct to meet friends for a playdate at the zoo. A woman from my MOPS group was in town with her 4 year old while her husband was there on business. And we ourselves were in Honolulu while Matt worked for a day, so what a fabulous way to hook up and see the sights! Colin had zero nap under his belt following our flight from the mainland and was an absolute champ the entire afternoon! We rode the city bus (a fun adventure for little boys) and then made the rounds at the zoo, which included an early dinner there for Colin. The snack hut there, just FYI, was actually pretty tasty.
6. We stayed at 4 different places during our trip. I highly recommend against that with a toddler who thrives on routine, but we survived, nonetheless. I felt like a hotels.com hotel ratings person, making comparisons all the way. I definitely have some feedback to post to traveladvisor.com. Our first place in Kauai was such a pleasant surprise. A smaller and older property north of Lihue, but the rooms had been recently renovated and we had a first floor lanai near the pool, which was great for when our menehune went to bed early. We could hang out on the lanai and not feel like we were missing out on the action.
7. The way to win friends and influence people when you are 2 is to have an abundance of cool animal squeezy toys. And the more you have to share, the more popular you are. Colin loved playing with his toys and meeting new friends at the pool. There was 20 month Alexander from Denver, 5 year old Elle from Irvine, 2 3/4 William from California, and many others whose names and stories we didn't catch.
8. Having a child in tow leads to meeting so many other people. Before we had Colin we never really met other travellers. Now that we have a kid and a million things in tow as we hit the pool area (floaties, toys, towels, snacks, drinks, sippy cups, gobs of sunscreen, etc), we immediately meet others. I met some remarkable people this week -- I had a bit of a social theological discussion with the worship leader of one of the largest churches from our hometown. We talked a bit about some of the challenges his church faces regarding perception in the community, as well as Christianity in general in our community. Interesting.
And then I met another mom from Utah. Her 2 year old spent the past year having 3 major surgeries because of something called craniosynostosis (she didn't have a soft spot in her skull.) This mom just poured out her heart about how it had affected her and the family and how it's helped her to relate to other moms in a more compassionate way. I was very moved by her story and her strength as a mom.
9. We watched several good movies on our vacation. I have to go on vacation just to catch up on the latest in Hollywood. I saw 27 Dresses, Bucket List, Jumper, & Next. I was very moved by the Bucket List, which has had mixed reviews. The characters have a discussion about faith and what happens when you die. Later, Morgan Freeman's character talks about the Egyptians and what the Gods are said to ask them when they die in order to get into heaven. Though I'm not interested in "getting into Egyptian heaven," these 2 questions offer much to ponder: Have you found joy during your life? Have you brought joy to others during your life?
10. Last, but not least, I had the joy of spending the past week with the undivided attention of my 2 favorite boys: Colin and Matt. No household repairs to lament and no work interruptions. Just time together, sitting in a hammock or by the pool. Or running after fowl. Or sipping a cool drink while basking in the sun to thaw out from winter's cold. As my bones warmed up in the Hawaiian sun, so did my heart. And the memories from this trip, dear friends, are a movie I hope to replay in my mind for years to come.
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